


We Can Light up the Sky

by sidsaid



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, But lite angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Reylo - Freeform, Royalty, Smut, Stardust AU, alternative universe, talking about feelings, this is mostly just soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 12:48:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24969958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidsaid/pseuds/sidsaid
Summary: Stormhold is a kingdom with a star for a Queen, and one where the sparkling night sky is all Rey needs to feel alive. So when she finds herself away from the city she knows with an unusual man as company, she can only look to the stars for guidance. A Stardust AU.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	We Can Light up the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is part of The Writing Den’s Reylo Theme Event, and I was in the Movie/TV AU group. 
> 
> I was wracking my brain for an idea, though when I thought of Stardust, it was like a lightbulb moment. So without further ado, here is my Stardust AU, and I hope you enjoy it! It is based on the movie as I have not yet read the book! :D

Even Stormhold’s dirtiest puddles could still reflect the brightest stars in the night sky. And Rey found some relief in seeing those glowing lights, despite her current position of being up to her wrists in dirty water. 

Rey winced as she pushed herself off her knees, wiping her muddy hands on her ruined skirt and bowing her head as Plutt sauntered off to continue his revells, a bottle of Stormhold’s finest whiskey in his hands. 

A coronation without a funeral was a strange event to experience, and from what Rey had heard from the women who camped around the market square – selling their wares, or working for another like her – it had never happened before. 

King Anakin and Queen Padme had taken off to the stars together after decades of ruling, though Rey could remember very little of their rule. The King had celebrated his 75th birthday when her memories began, though Rey’d been unable to recall her own age. She’d taken to guessing her age by the length of her hair, and comparing it to the other women who worked in the marketplace. Rey supposed she was 22; the age where most girls would marry if destiny allowed. 

Gazing up at the star-dappled sky once more before looking to the quickly drunkening crowds, Rey’s thoughts dipped towards the newly crowned Queen Leia, eldest of her siblings, and the Prince Consort Han. What would her rule be like? Blessed as she was from being born of a star and a king. 

‘Girl, get me another ale,’ Plutt slurred, spilling what remained of his tankard on the street. 

Rey sighed softly, fumbling in his purse for copper coins before she pushed through the crowding of people outside of the tavern, and reached the bar. 

Another and another. 

It would be like this all night. Even without a celebration, Plutt had no qualms in spending all his coin on drink, leaving Rey to clean up after him; to do all of the work for a pittance of a salary. 

Plutt didn’t make it much past midnight when Rey found him unconscious outside of the tavern, the remains of his ale spilled across his swollen stomach, and his mouth wide open. Easy pickings for the local children who hated him enough to happily throw pebbles into his open gob. 

Knowing he would be infuriated if he woke up here, Rey grabbed for the cart and hauled him onto it, before dragging him towards the shop and rolling him onto the threadbare rug that sat before the fire. 

His snores were loud when she stepped out again, eyes following the crowds of people drinking jovially, arms over each other. It filled Rey with the same anguish as usual; loneliness overcoming her and darkening her mood. She felt wholly eclipsed, moored on an isle in the middle of the sea, where neither sunlight nor starlight touched her. 

She slipped a hand into the pocket of her skirt, sifting through the few coins there and decided that a drink wasn’t worth it. Instead she took a slow stroll through the streets, avoiding the ever-drunkening citizens. 

It was as she was passing the Gilded Swan on the edge of the market quarter, in probably the worst part of the city, that she felt a splash against her nose and then the cascade of rain that had her stumbling inside the tavern. Most stayed outside, dancing in the rain, more ecstatic than Rey could understand. 

Trying to avoid attraction, she moved swiftly through to the back of the establishment, hoping that she wouldn’t be noticed by the barman for not purchasing a drink. In the furthest corner a hooded figure sat, staring sulkingly into his ale. 

**~*~**

Ben watched the fabric shift between his fingers, the gold thread woven into the material sparkling even in the dim lamplight, reminding him so much of his grandmother’s hair. Spun gold they used to call it, formed by the angels themselves when they blessed the skies with Padme Amidala’s celestial light. 

He didn’t have the heart to squeeze it tight enough to tear. This was his mother’s favourite design – a man and woman dancing across the tapestry, spinning in eachother’s arms against a moonlit night. 

A tear fell hot against his cheek and Ben slid up from the edge of the bed, taking another glance around the room.

Everything was as it had always been. 

His grandmother’s elaborate chest sitting at the east wall, filled with jewelry – head dresses, tiaras, rings – the wall of swords his grandfather had collected beside it. The balcony and veranda that looked over towards the sea remained unmoved and the paintings that covered the wall, untouched. Personal. Familiar. There were enough expertly painted images of Ben and his family, his grandparents, that he winced at the fact. 

Shouting and music swam up from the streets far below and Ben closed his eyes, wishing that the action could stop his ears too. His room was already a crumbled mess from anger, and his knuckles still bled at the destruction, but now all that was left was a hollowness deep within him. 

They were gone.

They had left him. 

If he could have avoided his mother’s coronation, which had been within hours of his grandparent’s ascension, he would have. Throughout the ceremony her eyes had caught his, and he knew the pain she bore. Not at the loss of her parents, no. It was him. He had betrayed her, and picked them over her. Her only child. Her only son. The broken Crown Prince, eyes raw and throat hoarse, unable to accept that his grandparents had decided to pass on. 

‘Your Highness, her Majesty wishes to see you,’ a page spoke, voice shaking as he interrupted Ben’s empty thoughts. 

‘I am out.

‘But your High—.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘I am out.’ 

The page stumbled backwards with a quick nod. Ben took one more look around the room before he grabbed his cloak from the ornate ottamon and tossed it over his shoulders, pulling the hood over his head. 

Even if the other servants saw him leave the palace, it was unlikely that they would try to stop him, though Ben noted that the Head Butler seemed to hesitate as the crown prince trudged past the kitchens and out of the servants’ door. It would be the rowdiest night Stormhold had seen in decades, and the perfect night for the crown prince to get drunk without anyone paying him any attention. 

The Gilded Swan was the furthest tavern from the palace, which is why Ben decided to take the extra hour-long walk to get there. At least if somebody from the palace decided to look for him, they’d probably start at the more upmarket establishments that ringed the royal residence before making it through to the absolute pits of the city. 

Ben took a seat at the bar, avoiding the rings of sticky ale across the wooden surface and gestured for a flagon of ale and three fingers of the barman’s strongest liquor. He drank back the burning liquid and then simmered with the ale, his hands clasping the bitter liquid and grimacing into the foamy surface. 

He grabbed another flagon and stood, only stumbling a little has he moved deeper into the tavern, and taking up a dim corner of the room. It was warm and dark, though smelled like piss, and if Ben were sober, he was sure he wouldn’t have even considered it, yet he sat still, wondering into his drink, thinking about his own folly.

They had said goodbye. They had not truly abandoned him. 

The truth didn’t sting any less. 

Footsteps fell into the periphery of his vision and he glanced up, eyes wide as he found the face of a young woman, a cascade of hazelnut waves framing a face beneath a hood of grey. Her worn brown dress was partially wet, and covered in mud, yet his gaze fell to her face again. Those eyes...

He blinked, dizzy and realising he was drunker than he had originally considered. 

‘Angel,’ he murmured without thinking. The tear that slid across his face was unbidden too, and Ben wasn’t present enough to berate himself before the woman approached, her brow furrowed as she lowered herself towards him. 

**~*~**

‘Are you in pain?’ She asked. 

There couldn’t be any other reason for his crying. The tears falling fast and silently as he looked at her. Rey couldn’t remember the last time someone had met her eye, let alone cried as if it had been as a reaction to her.

It stirred the hollowness in her chest and she sought out more of that feeling, even if it was from a drunk man in the dark corner of a tavern. 

‘How high can you fly, angel?’ He asked, holding her gaze. ‘Back to the heavens?’

‘As far as Folks street,’ she murmured, a light smile on her lips. ‘I’m afraid my wings were clipped a long time ago.’ 

He sighed heavily, blinked, but did not look away.

Rey wondered what he was seeing, or whether he was simply using her eyes as a means of looking at himself. Entranced by his own drunken reflection. Yet in the back of her mind she could understand it: The compulsion to watch him deepened, and she saw stars scatter unfamiliarly across her vision, causing her to blink away tiredness and darkness. 

He was quiet for some time as they both stared at each other, and then he was shaking his head, muttering something. He stood, pushing past her. Rey began trailing his wobbly gait, her mind telling her to follow, but then she denied the urge. What was the point?

Rey took a seat for several moments, looking into the half-finished ale sitting on the table. Her hands closed around the flagon, the wood still warm to touch, so much so that she considered that either the man ran hot like she did, or he had a temperature. And if he was drunkenly wandering around in the rain, he’d likely get sick.

She found herself following after him without another thought beyond that, though despite looking up a dozen streets and holding her hood against the rain, she saw no sight of him. Rey resigned herself to going home and hoped that Plutt had woken enough to move into his own bed and leave Rey to warm up by the fire. 

**~*~**

Ben stumbled up and down streets, falling over stubborn cobblestones and feeling his hair drenched and slick against his forehead and cheeks. 

There was something that had been too familiar about the woman. He didn’t know exactly what, but it was so frighteningly compelling, that he’d decided to leave. 

He couldn’t even take comfort in the stars, not when clouds of rain obscured them, raining hell on him and making his footing worse. He was trying to walk back to the palace, but it was hard going and Ben wanted nothing more than to curl into a corner and slowly sink into the stone floor. 

Eventually he stopped to stand under an awning of a shop, when a handful of old women walked past in extravagant looking umbrellas. One stopped and circled back, looking up into his face. 

‘Look Marianne. It’s the little princeling.’ She grinned, and it was an ugly thing. 

There was a snort. ‘Surely not, Cosette.’ Though she too looked and smiled wide, her mouth full of rotten teeth.

Ben stepped away from under the awning, the womens’ faces grotesquely old, despite their being youth in their gaits and shapes. It reminded him too much of stories his grandmother had told him when he was a child. Of Witches. Hags. 

‘Startled like a doe,’ the third murmured sympathetically. ‘Perhaps we should get him inside with a cup of tea.’ 

He hurried away, though was halted when he tripped over another cobblestone, slamming and jolting his knee in pain. A hand fell across his shoulder before he could correct himself and then a cool, sharp edge was pressed against his throat.

‘Come with us quietly, your Highness. We won’t hurt you.’ 

Ben fumbled for his sword, coming against nothing, and realising he wasn’t wearing any weapons. Simply dressed enough to be confused for a regular townsperson. Not the Crown Prince of Stormhold. 

The glass knife was against his throat again, scratching a thin line of red that had him sobering up. Before he could do anything, he felt his arms restrained and then he was walking without issue, though feeling as if it were out of his control, walking and walking toward a carriage several hundred metres away, the rain bypassing them. 

His hands and feet were bound with little issue, and then a gag tied around his head. Ben shivered in his wet clothes, trying to force his hearing beyond it’s capabilities. To hear what the women were saying. 

‘We could ransom him? A quarter star isn’t going to get us much, is it?’ 

‘Can a star’s power ever truly be diluted?’ Another asked pensively. 

‘In his state, it probably won’t be worth it.’ 

There was a chuckle then. ‘We could always do both.’

‘Oh Cosette, you really are diabolical.’

Ben strained then, trying to pull at his ropes but to no avail. Even once the carriage set off, the sun splitting through the half-covered windows and a sober realisation hitting Ben, he didn’t stop struggling. 

**~*~**

Rey woke up at first light, the embers of the fire dying as she rose. 

She’d left her dress to hang dry, knowing it would need a good wash after all of the mud it had endured. Rey grabbed for her only other spare – dark blue, worn along the hem and having seen better days. It had been the first dress she remembered owning, having been repaired by her own hand over the years. 

Plutt was still snoring noisely as Rey set about making breakfast for him, and cleaning the mess he had made during the night. She cleaned up the shop, rearranging the mountains of ‘curious’ items for sale, and then turned the sign on the door.

It was another hour before Plutt was awake. He plodded about, bathed in the basin and then changed his clothes. Rey could hear him knock the milk jug as he consumed his breakfast, and grunted with satisfaction. 

Some of the market girls, when Rey had first been taken in by Plutt, would laugh at her, calling her Plutt’s child bride. For years she had been frightened that, that would be the case. Eventually she would wholly become his property when she had no other choice. No prospects. No family. No memory. 

Despite time passing and her fears finding no foothold in reality, Rey still had not left Plutt’s shop. Though that was more to do with the part of her that felt he’d rather kill her than see her leave him. Plutt never liked to lose out, and Rey escaping him was no different than a deal falling through. She’d known for years that running away was her best option, but then she saw the women in the red district, and was frightened that she would turn to selling her body. 

A chill reached her as Plutt came out from the back. He grunted at her, signalling to make herself scarce, and Rey went about doing the housework before she would go out to pick up supplies. 

Absently, as she sweeped the length of the room, she wondered what had happened to the man the night before. Wondered whether he had gotten home, caught the cold she expected he would? Was he wincing from a hangover, unable to stomach his breakfast?

Rey sighed, imagining what it would feel like to have someone she cared for. To have someone who cared whether she had breakfast.

The shop door opened and Rey listened as multiple footsteps entered. She opened the back door to let in some fresh air as Plutt went about speaking to whatever customers that had come in. 

It was looking to be a pleasant day. The rain had stopped some time around dawn and now the streets were full and busy with shoppers, though it wasn’t usual for more than a handful of customers to visit the shop in a day. The magical, mystical and strange items that Plutt collected weren’t particularly popular, though they were worth a lot. 

Voices became raised and Rey neared the ajar door to the shop, listening as she propped the broom against the wall.

‘You dare to insult me? Five hundred silver? You weasel.’ 

Plutt grumbled. ‘I wouldn’t expect you to know what it’s worth. Senile old woman.’

‘The insolence,’ another female voice squeaked. 

Rey sighed, shaking her head. It seemed that any niceties had been thrown out the window some time ago if Plutt was willing to insult his customers rather than butter them up as usual.

‘I’m the only one with these knives for sale in this kingdom. So if you don’t like my prices, you can jog on.’ 

‘Whoever said we had to pay?’ This voice was new, low and thick. To Rey it sounded like a reckoning and she backed away from the door, knocking the broom and barely catching it before it clattered loudly to the floor.

‘Are you threatening me?’ Plutt asked.

There were a melody of laughs. ‘A promise is never a threat.’ 

Rey heard a shout, the high screech of a knife, and then a thud. It was a minor hesitation before she was out of the back door, fear filling her wholly. 

She looked about the market, where people milled about none the wiser to what had just occurred in Plutt’s shop. Trying not to panic, Rey looked around for somewhere to hide and found a very dilapidated looking carriage at the edge of the square. A wheel was even off, so Rey imagined that it was out of use. 

Taking a moment to look around, she climbed inside, and blinked, seeing something shift in the darkness. Moving aside a curtain, Rey saw the shape of a man be lit. He squirmed, mumbling against a length of cloth at his mouth and Rey met his eyes.

It was that man. It was the same man.

She was pulling at the ropes in moments and when he was free, he didn’t hesitate to pull her from the carriage and take off running. Rey didn’t have a chance to ask why they were running?; why he had been tied up?; who had kidnapped him?; when they were tearing down the street, dodging people and puddles. Avoiding slipping in pools of mud and what Rey could only assume were a variety of bodily fluids. 

Even still, once they reached the gates to the city, he sped up and ran for a large wagon loaded with hay bales and empty milk pails. He pushed Rey up and onto it and then pulled himself onto the back. The pair huffed, catching their breaths as Rey’s wide eyes stared at him, disbelief and confusion falling over her.

‘Are you insane?’ She hissed. 

He groaned, ready to fall back onto the remains of a hay bale when he froze, looking at her intently. ‘It’s you!’

**~*~**

She frowned as he looked over her. The same chestnut hair, pinned slightly away from her sweaty temples. A blue dress today, in even worse condition than yesterday’s, but those same eyes. Caramel in the sunlight, framed with thick lashes, that were now wide and confused. She chewed on her lip, watching him carefully. 

‘You are—’ he couldn’t finish the words. Could barely even finish the thought. She was so familiar, to the extent that he wondered if she was somehow some lady of the court he had met before and had completely forgotten about meeting. Though he threw that thought away within seconds because she wasn’t someone you could easily forget.

Not the arch of her brow, the height of her cheeks or the slender column of her throat. Nor the gentleness her gaze took on as she realised that Ben was clearly out of his mind. 

‘You are still drunk, are you not?’ She queried. ‘Though I can’t imagine how you managed to tie yourself up.’

He snorted. ‘No, I think you’ll find you prevented a kidnapping and a possible murder.’ 

‘ _ Your _ murder,’ she mumbled. ‘Plutt wasn’t so lucky.’

‘Plutt?’

‘My boss.’ 

‘Who killed him?’ 

‘Some customers who came in. It sounded like three women.’

Ben grimaced. ‘Those sound like the witches who took me. It’s a good thing I grabbed you...they might not have stopped at your boss.’ 

‘Witches?’ 

He nodded and found his eyes falling on her again. She was exceptionally beautiful, he decided. The night before he’d thought his eyes had been deceiving him. Yet here she was, as real as he was. ‘I thought you were a dream,’ he murmured. ‘Heaven sent.’ 

‘Do you often dream of servant girls in taverns?’ 

‘Unfortunately, no. 

Rey sighed gently and leant back, eyes on the blue and white sky. ‘Am I just supposed to sit on this wagon until the driver realises we’ve hitched a ride?’ 

Ben looked down at her for a moment before lying beside her, a heavy breath as he rested his hands on his stomach. ‘At least until we lose their trail.’ 

She sighed gently. ‘I’m Rey, by the way.’

‘I’m Ben.’ 

**~*~**

Witches? The word filled Rey with a potent supply of dread and she was suddenly thankful that they were on the back of a wagon, drifting swiftly out of the city. It wasn’t like she had anything else going for her within the walls.

Rey had closed her eyes, hoping it would help her imagine that this wasn’t happening. That she wasn’t in the back of a wagon with a strange man, a trio of witches potentially hunting them down. 

She hadn’t expected to fall asleep, though when Ben elbowed her awake, the sun was still shining, though much lower than before.

Glancing up, she could smell the sharp tang of salt water and Rey was thankful that they had at least followed the coast. It made it an easier trip back to the city. The wagon had slowed and Ben indicated that they should jump off.

He went first and then Rey followed after, leaving the two of them stranded by the side of the road. 

‘Where are we?’ 

‘I’m not too sure. I think almost to Wall.’ 

Rey hummed. She’d never been more than a few miles out of the city. Still, there was a village not far from view; up along a cliff face, and she smiled, being filled with excitement at the thought of somewhere to explore. She couldn’t remember having done so before.

‘Are you hungry?’ 

‘Yeah,’ she responded almost immediately and Ben chuckled beside her. ‘I don’t have any money, though.’

Ben shrugged. ‘I have some, we can share a portion of fish and chips.’

Rey was silent, fingers twisting a loose thread at her sleeve. The thought had her salivating and they began walking, her pace quick and Ben keeping in step with her.

He didn’t speak much, as she expected. He silently brooded, though Rey didn’t think the brooding came from a bad place. It seemed as if he were hurt. Heartbroken, even. Rey wasn’t quite sure what had brought her to that conclusion, but when she saw the low tilt of his brow, there seemed to be something melancholic about it. She supposed it may have been why she’d found him drinking so heavily yesterday. Alone. 

‘Did you not have anyone to drink with yesterday?’ She asked as they neared the edge of the town. It was clearly a fishing village, by the thick scent of salt and fish. 

‘I’m not sure I’d be good company.’ He paused, working his jaw. ‘But no.’ His eyes met hers as they strolled, nearing a small tavern with bright windows covered in white and blue paint. ‘Why were you there?’ 

‘Avoiding the rain,’ she said with a brief smile. ‘I don’t have anyone to drink with, even if I had the money.’ 

Ben pulled the door of the tavern open for Rey, allowing her to step in first. It was empty and there were wooden tables that lined the space. They took a seat at the end of one and even without asking, they were provided with flagons of ale and then dishes of steaming fish and chips. 

‘I’ve never had this before,’ Rey murmured, fingering a wedge of potato. ‘Though the smell...now that’s something I’ve craved.’ 

‘Even food from the finest chefs can’t compare to this,’ Ben commented.

Rey smiled, beamed even as she bit into the chip, savouring it for a moment before devouring the dish far too quickly; with gusto and delight.

Ben couldn’t look away from her, and how messily she ate. How she appreciated the food, regardless. She must have been starving, he considered. The joy that spread across her face was warming to him; something untainted and pure. It even seemed to bring light and warmth back to her face, and when she realised he was looking, rather than complain, she met his gaze and giggled heartily. 

‘If you don’t get back to eating, I’ll have yours too.’ 

He picked through a few more chips before pushing the plate towards Rey to finish off. ‘Be my guest.’ 

‘So,’ Rey started, slowing down as the supply of food dwindled, taking to eating only one chip at a time now. ‘Were the witches planning to cook you or something? A sacrifice?’ 

Ben chuckled and shook his head. ‘They hadn’t made their mind up between ransoming me and cutting me open to see what I’m made of.’

Rey tapped her chin with a forefinger, frowning. ‘What do you think would have been the best choice?’

He grinned now. ‘What? So you can finish where they left off?’ 

‘Well?’ Rey pressed, ignoring the question, mischief in her eyes. 

‘A ransom, probably. I think they would have been disappointed by the contents of my chest.’ 

She settled back, sucking a greasy finger into her mouth and considering his words. ‘Wrong answer.’

‘There was a right answer?’ 

‘There is nothing more precious and priceless than a human heart,’ she answered. ‘A soul has weight, and has meaning. There are none that are worthless, and if that heart is filled with love, then there is nothing more beautiful; nothing worth more than that.’ 

Ben swallowed, unable to look away from Rey as she spoke, his stomach twisting in a way he didn’t quite know how to explain. ‘My grandmother...she said there is one thing a heart can be traded for.’ 

Rey straightened, her expression more serious than she meant it to be. There was a strange trepidation in her, knowing that where these thoughts, feelings and opinions came from was beyond her memory. That they’d formed in her mind years ago and she’d not known from where, when, why or how. ‘What with?’

‘Another heart...the heart of your soulmate.’ 

‘Then you should make sure that your heart stays firmly in your chest, Ben. Until its worthy owner comes along.’ 

He grinned, and drank back the dregs of his ale. Rey finished the chips and did the same, their eyes meeting over each others’ mugs, an easy silence falling over them. 

The pair sank back another flagon-full of ale, talking easily about things that strayed far away from the reasons why they were sat here together. Not who Ben was that the witches would want to ransom him, not what kind of man Plutt was, or what Rey was to him. Rey didn’t even mention that her memories only began a handful of years ago. What they shared primarily were stories:

Fairy Tales, with knights and warrior princesses. Magical frogs, enchanted beds, flying carpets and blood moons. The tales Ben had been told as a child, the ones that Rey had heard from the door of Plutt’s shop; shared among the city children as they sat in the market, looking for ways to entertain themselves. 

Rey’s hand gripped the handle of her own drink tightly as she listened to Ben, enthralled by the way he wove a story about a woman who lived in a shoe. She grinned, chuckling, her heart pattering away with mirth. Almost painfully so. It led her to rub a hand against her sternum, unused to the feeling. It almost made her light-headed. 

‘You do know the story about the fallen star, don’t you?’ 

She blinked, looking at him, her head tilting slightly. ‘A fallen star?’ She echoed, brow furrowing as she combed her memory for a story. Rey came back empty-handed, not able to recollect hearing a story of a fallen star. Though unlike usual, the lapse in her memory felt unnatural – that it had fallen in the well of forgetting with all of her other memories, and this was a story she should know. She did know.

Rey shook her head. 

Ben smiled, seemingly happy to be able to share it. ‘There was a young man who believed himself in love. So in love that in order to prove that love, he’d cross the world to bring back something utterly unique: a fallen star. Little did he know before he embarked on his journey, was that that star was a living and breathing woman; as alive as either you or me.’ 

‘Did he fall in love with the star?’ Rey asked, smiling wide. 

He nodded and chuckled. ‘Though you are getting ahead of the story.’

Rey put a hand to her mouth, closing it tightly with a small laugh.

‘As they journeyed back to his home, the man intending to bring the star to his beloved as a gift, he came to realise the depth of his own feelings. As shallow as a puddle for the woman he’d left at home, but deeper than the ocean, bottomless even, was his love for the star. So when three witches sought to take the star’s heart for themselves, to consume her and be youthful once more, the love the star had for the young man, and he for her, made her shine so brightly that it overwhelmed the witches, and they were killed beneath its power.’ 

‘So love conquers all in this case?’ Rey asked with a grin. 

Ben pursed his lips, looking at her carefully, and found himself taken to smiling. ‘You have never heard the story of King Anakin and Queen Padme?’ 

‘That is their story?’ Rey queried, leaning forward. ‘I thought that when people said that the queen was a star, they meant in the symbolic sense.’ 

He grinned. ‘Not quite.’ 

Rey sat back, looking to where her hands rested on the edge of the table, facing upwards. ‘I wish I knew a story of my own.’

‘You just told me half a dozen.’ 

‘They are only those I’ve heard. I…’ She hesitated, not knowing what to tell him, yet there was an easiness to Ben that had her trusting him effortlessly. ‘I don’t have any memory of how I got to Stormhold.’ 

‘As a child?’ 

Her face dropped and she shook her head. ‘My memory goes back only as far as five years ago.’ 

He barely reigned in his shock, but Rey understood it. Her memory loss was strange and made her fear that others would consider her cursed in some way if they knew. 

‘You had no keepsake? Something to show you who your family may have been? Or something to show why you had forgotten?’

Rey shook her head. ‘I have gotten used to my situation now, but it would have been nice. To know what tales of distant kingdoms I knew, whether I had a family, big or small, with brothers or sisters or both. Whether I’d loved before, or been loved…’ She trailed off, eyes moving around the room; at the people who had appeared while they’d been so absorbed in themselves. 

Her eyes sank back to Ben who was looking at her seriously.

‘Well now you have the chance to find out, don’t you?’ She blinked. ‘Whether it’s the past or the future, you can do anything you want. You can go back to that shop, claim what is yours and forge a new life.’

‘Is it that easy?’

Ben smiled, a small, painful thing. ‘Perhaps not easy, but simple. You can follow your heart now.’

Rey grinned at the word, at the thought of moving on being simple. That her own heart could be something more than an organ to keep her alive. ‘I think that you are more beautiful than you know and believe yourself to be.’ 

‘My grandmother used to say that,’ he murmured as an answer, eyes looking into his beverage.

‘She was right, then.’

Ben followed Rey as she stood, her eyes on the outside. Night had fallen. They’d been sitting, talking and drinking for hours, and it would be too late to go back to the city now.

‘Ben,’ she murmured. He met her gaze and she was grinning wide. ‘I’ve never been to the beach.’

‘Do you want to see it?’ 

Rey nodded and Ben didn’t hesitate to comply with her desires. He dropped a gold coin onto the table and then followed Rey out of the door. They walked down towards the beach, Rey pulling eagerly on Ben’s arm to speed up his gait, and he allowed it, stumbling forward as she yanked. 

They stopped on the shoreline, watching the waves crash along the sand. Rey’s arm had fallen to link with his and she tightened her hold on it as she watched the sea ebb and flow.

‘Why don’t you take your shoes off? You can feel the waves at your feet.’

Rey didn’t respond, but excitedly removed her shoes and stepped into the shallow line of water as it pulled in. Her smile was huge and infectious, and Ben found himself following suit, trailing her into the water. 

She kicked the salt water at him, dampening his clothing, and leading Ben to chase her and do the same. The hem of her dress grew soaked as they laughed together, the water a cool, satisfying tonic for the warmth of the summer evening. 

They slowed to a stop, walking the edge of the shoreline and Rey took Ben’s hand, folding their fingers together as if it were the easiest thing in the world. As if it was the one thing that made sense. 

‘Thank you for rescuing me,’ Ben said. ‘You’ve made this day less painful. I...my heart feels full,’ he amended, finding the words felt more accurate on his tongue than any loose, emotionless semantics. 

Rey grinned. ‘And you’ve made me feel less scared and alone, and I have to thank you for that.’ 

They stopped walking and Ben moved to stand in front of her, resolution in the angle of his jaw. ‘I’d like to kiss you,’ he murmured. 

‘I’ve never been kissed before,’ Rey responded with a raised brow. Her eyes had dipped to his lips, wondering what it would be like. She’d seen enough people do it. 

‘I’m sorry,’ Ben said, a wince clear on his face as he moved to start walking again, but Rey halted him with a hand and chuckled.

‘I never said no.’ 

Her lips brushed his. Brief, warm and cautious. She had stepped back before Ben could even finish blinking, and then she was chuckling. Ben knew it was due to his expression – gormless wonder. He didn’t expect her to step closer to him, for her hands to reach and grasp his jaw softly and to press their lips together once more. More firmly this time. 

Ben’s eyes closed, the night bright under the moonlight, and he felt his heart quickening. Kissing Rey was dizzying. 

His hands reached upwards as hers tangled in his hair. The waves crashed across their ankles and they both sighed, a warmth kindling between them. 

Rey’s eyes blinked open, followed by Ben’s and they smiled at each other. She could feel goosebumps along her arms and her heart thudded away, filling her with a light that felt so familiar, yet unplaceable in her memories. 

Neither of them spoke for some time. They just held each other’s gaze until Ben looked up at the moon and then back to Rey, taking her hand. They walked back to their shoes and then back up to the village in companionable, almost nervous silence. 

‘We can head back to the city in the morning,’ Ben started as they trailed upwards along the cobbled streets. ‘I have enough money to get us both somewhere to stay.’ 

‘You think we’ll be safe?’

Ben frowned slightly, but nodded. ‘It was my idiocy that got me in this mess, but I know what to do now.’

She chuckled. ‘I feel inclined to believe you for some reason.’

He grinned and they kept walking until they reached a building called ‘The Time Keeper’s Inn’. Rey suggested acquiring two rooms that were connected by a door, just so that they could keep an eye on each other. 

They were both able to wash the day’s grime off in the inn’s bathing rooms. Rey went first, and when she was wrapped in a bathrobe, she returned to her room to find that Ben had left out a night gown and a new dress on the end of her bed. It was beautiful; sky blue linen, artfully made and it smelled of fresh lavender. 

As Ben bathed, Rey put on the night gown and tied her long hair into a plait. She sat at the end of the bed, the material of the dress shifting between her forefinger and thumb. 

It was too much. 

She considered whether to wait for him to come back to tell him so, but she knew it would be another line that they had crossed. Though Rey was very aware that the lines had not even been drawn to start with. 

Instead she fell asleep, curled around the dress, a smile against her lips. 

**~*~**

Ben felt light-headed. 

Despite what the witches had conversed about, a quarter star’s heart was little different from a star’s. It grew stronger, paced faster than a human’s. Ached and shone like a star’s, even if it did not show. That was the singular difference – he did not shine like his grandmother. Perfectly and perpetually luminescent. 

Ben had thought he’d shone when Rey had kissed him. As if the moment had caused him to do something impossible. That was the depth of the warmth in his chest. Surprising and unexpected. 

The more they spoke,and the more he found out about her, the more he wanted to make up for her past and present troubles. He had the ability to do so, even if that meant simply handing her the contents of his coin pouch. So he had asked the innkeeper whether there was any clothing he could purchase while flashing a handful of gold coins, and the man had brought out a blue dress. 

Even when Ben had laid the dress at the end of Rey’s bed, along with a borrowed night-dress, he had asked himself what he was doing. Why, even as he sat within the silence of the bathing room, his thoughts were solely on her. Not when he had spent the previous day raging that his grandparents were gone. That he had been so consumed by anger and now...it felt like it had been so long ago. His heart had changed so quickly and so drastically that it had to have been Rey.

Ben dipped his head into the water, pushing back his hair and rubbing his lips together. 

She didn’t even know who he was. A joke of a prince who had managed to get himself kidnapped by witches because he’d spent the previous evening drinking himself into oblivion. He supposed he’d almost succeeded. 

When he was out, dry and dressed in a nightshirt, his eyes fell on Rey’s door. He could hear her softly breathing and the thought of that peace affected him far more deeply than he thought it would. That he had been able to give her a warm bed, a hot meal. He wanted to keep on giving. More and more until she had everything she deserved. Though Ben didn’t know where that would end. Perhaps he would only rest when he had given her the world? 

It took him longer than he would have liked to sleep. His eyes were on the door, a hand against his chest with a silent prayer to his heart that it would ease its speed. 

‘Am I being a fool?’ He wondered aloud, thinking of his grandmother when he said it. 

He fell asleep to silky chestnut hair slipping through his fingers, a warm kiss pressed against his lips and embers beneath his ribs. 

**~*~**

There was a slight knock at Ben’s door, and he turned beneath the sheets of the bed, disorientated and squinting against the sunlight that streamed through the windows. 

‘Yeah?’ 

Rey was peaking into the room, her finger tips and eyes peering around the door. ‘I thought you might have wanted breakfast. The innkeeper says he’ll stop serving it in thirty minutes.’ 

Ben blinked away sleep and nodded, and Rey backed up into her room before he could push the sheets off himself. He splashed his face with room-temperature water from the basin in the corner and pulled on a new shirt and trousers, though he had the same coat and cloak.

‘Morning,’ Rey said once Ben was out of the door. She’d been waiting, leaning against the wall across from the door in the dress he’d bought. Her hair was drawn partially away from her face with braids and pins, and she smiled warmly as their eyes met. 

She was lovely. 

‘Good morning,’ Ben stumbled out, trying not to concentrate on her dress for too long. Trying to keep his eyes level with hers.

Rey held her hand towards him and he looked down at it, at her long fingers. He took it and she led him downstairs towards the eating area, where the innkeeper provided them with a breakfast of oats in milk, honey, an assortment of berries, as well as a dish of smoked fish and bread. 

Her eyes were wide at the plates before them, and Ben could see that the innkeeper was looking at him nervously. He had been recognised. 

‘Ben?’ He looked to Rey again, and her lips were pursed carefully as she watched him. ‘I will pay you back.’ 

‘For what?’

‘For this.’ She gestured to the dress. ‘And for the room, this breakfast too.’ 

‘You don’t have to.’ 

Rey smiled. ‘Then what excuse can I use to see you again?’ 

‘Why do you think you wouldn’t see me again?’ 

She paused, a spoonful of oatmeal in her mouth. Rey chewed on it, watching him before swallowing. ‘You want to see me again?’ There was a doubtful expression that crossed her face and Ben smiled, nodding. 

‘Yesterday was a lot of things, but you made it better. A lot better.’ 

Rey straightened, hiding the smile on her lips behind another spoonful. ‘I feel the same.’ 

‘So of course I’d like to replicate it.’

‘Ben?’ She repeated his name again, and he grinned, not having looked away from her.

‘Do you like saying my name that much?’

Her mouth closed and she watched him cautiously for several seconds before she spoke again. ‘Do we have to go back right away?’ A nervous energy filled her voice as she continued. ‘I spoke with the innkeeper. He said that his brother is a fisherman, and he could take us to the city port at dawn tomorrow when he delivers his catch.’

Ben’s thoughts immediately went to his parents. While he didn’t leave the palace for more than twenty-four hours often, it wasn’t a rarity, and Ben pondered over whether his parents considered his disappearance simply a means of dealing with his grandparents’ ascension. Whether they thought his absence suspicious in any way. 

Rey stirred her oats, watching the cereal spin within the milk. Ben couldn’t help smiling, his eyes tracing the curve of her blush-tinged ears. He wanted to take her to his home and to introduce her to his parents. Yet he couldn’t hide his own selfish desire to be with her in this nondescript village for longer. To not be a prince for a few hours more. 

Ben looked to the innkeeper, who stood by the door and nodded his head deferentially when their eyes caught.

‘Okay.’

‘Really? You don’t have more important things to be doing?’

He nodded. ‘I know I’d regret it.’ 

Rey smiled and noticing that Ben wasn’t eating, pushed his bowl towards him. He lifted his spoon and followed suit, the pair of them filled with mirth as they ate. 

**~*~**

Once they finished breakfast, Ben clasped his cloak around Rey’s shoulders and approached the innkeeper. 

‘Your Highness,’ he began to bow but Ben shook his head and smiled. 

‘That’s not necessary. Would you be able to arrange for a letter to be sent to the palace? If your brother is amenable to it, we’d like it if he could bring us along on his journey to the city in the morning.’ 

The innkeeper smiled and nodded. ‘Of course.’ He reached into a cabinet and pulled out paper and graphite. 

Ben began to write, leaning the paper against a nearby table. ‘If you could not let anyone know I’m here, I’d be grateful.’

He nodded and took the note that Ben had folded in half. ‘Is there anything else I can help you with?’ 

Ben shook his head and smiled. ‘I think we’re going to explore the village.’

When Ben looked to find Rey again, he found her chatting with an older woman. The woman was showing her a shell necklace and Rey beamed as she listened to her words. When she caught Ben’s eye, she grinned and finished the conversation before standing and moving towards him. 

‘What were you talking about?’

Rey shook her head and smiled. ‘About my fortune,’ she jested. 

Ben looked suspicious but accepted Rey’s hand and her gentle tug leading him out of the front door. 

The pair walked the cobbled streets, watching the village people mill about and continue on with their usual chores and responsibilities. They walked into small shops, perusing through baked goods, clothes, furniture and furnishings. Rey would smile when she saw something familiar – a loaf of sourdough, a tool kit or a bucket of horseshoes. 

‘You must think I’m so strange,’ Rey murmured as they walked down the cliff’s edge, their sights on the beach. ‘I’ve not seen anything. I’ve not done anything.’ 

Ben’s brow twitched, and he snorted lightly. ‘What makes you think I’ve done or seen anything?’ 

‘Are you trying to deny that you have travelled the length of Stormhold?’ Rey asked with a narrowed eye. 

He smiled. ‘Well no, but just because I’ve been somewhere, doesn’t mean I was paying attention.’ Ben looked to the sky as his arms swung at his sides, smiling as the sun warmed his face. ‘If you asked me to recall what I’ve seen, I’d probably say the houses in the east were made of wood, or the southern sea is freezing cold. There’d be no heart in that, and so I’d ask you, have I truly seen anything if I can’t tell you something personal?’ 

Rey’s expression was pensieve and she was silent for some time. Eventually Ben slowed to a stop. ‘Why? When you’ve had so many opportunities that others have not?’ 

‘I don’t know,’ he answered honestly. ‘I’m only coming to the realisation now, as I watch you, that I haven’t been taking in the details. That I’ve seen everything in this half-blind, selfish way. To the extent that I’ve myself the victim at the expense of the happiness of those I love.’ 

‘I think you view yourself too critically.’ 

Ben made a face, but Rey shook her head. ‘You already know the areas you lack in, which means you’re already halfway to fixing them.’ Then she smiled. ‘Which means that it is your duty to find at least one thing every day that is special to you.’ 

Rey took up his hand, and began walking again.

As they neared the beach, they could hear children playing – some along the sand, many in the water. There were old women sitting along the length of beach, making shell necklaces not dissimilar to the one the older woman had been showing Rey that morning.

There was a small hut just past the overhang of the cliff, and a man seemed to be selling everything from there. Beverages, snacks, ices, boat trips, blankets to rest on or chairs to sit in. 

From here and in the daylight, they could see the city, with the palace at its highest peak, and the spires almost piercing the clouds above.

Ben considered that even with the sun still high in the sky, he’d already found his one special thing. 

**~*~**

Rey couldn’t stop smiling. It was noticeable to her by how her cheeks strained against stopping. The expression was on the cusp of causing pain, yet she couldn’t stop herself. Not when Ben was concentrating on counting the freckles on her hand, as they took a seat on a rented blanket, watching the waves rumble from over the horizon. 

Ben filled her with stories. His own this time. What he had done when he’d last been in this part of the kingdom and why. How his mother thought he would turn into a fish when he was a child, because he’d spend hours swimming in the sea. How he learned how to ride a horse, explaining the scar he had at his shoulder due to falling from one. This prompted Rey to reveal she had a single scar – a small line across her cheek.

‘When I woke up without any memories, this was all I had. It was shallow, bleeding only a little, and I’ve always guessed I got it from falling. Maybe I tripped, hit my head and forgot it all.’ 

Ben’s lips were pursed in thought. ‘Have you thought about trying to get your memories back? Perhaps retracing your steps.’ 

‘I waited in that field for days, hoping that something would jog my memory, or someone I knew would come looking for me.’ She shook her head and sighed. ‘Plutt found me and gave me an offer I suppose I couldn’t exactly refuse.’ 

He frowned, though Rey disrupted his thoughts with another smile. ‘I think they’ll eventually come back. Though I bet at the most inopportune time.’

The pair ended up going back to the tavern for a meal – this time fish stew – and then visited the town library. It was filled with books, far more than either anticipated and they spent several hours finding tomes and showing eachother where the stories they had been sharing for the past two days had come from. 

They were standing in an alcove, tucked in close and reading from a single book when the librarian cleared his throat. The sun had sunk once more and the pair blinked, wondering where all the time had gone. 

It was still warm outside, and they trailed back to the inn, hand in hand. The innkeeper was at his usual post at the door, and he smiled at them both, before reaching beneath his desk and passing them a basket. 

‘I thought you might want to eat supper outside,’ he said, looking to Ben.

The young prince smiled and they both thanked him. Rey led the way, pulling Ben towards the highest point of the cliffside village. Its peak was covered in grass and wild-flowers, overlooking the shallow surf and rocks.

Setting out the blanket on the soft ground, Rey pulled out dishes one by one, and then a bottle of wine. 

‘I think I could live here,’ she said with a grin as she took out two goblets. 

Ben chuckled, pulled the cork and shared out the alcohol between them. ‘Do you have any idea what you’d want to do?’ 

Rey considered, her hands cradling the chalice, the rim against her lips. ‘I can’t think of just one thing. I want to do everything,’ she said with a smile. ‘Though I’m not sure how possible that is.’ 

‘I think you could do anything you set your mind to.’ 

‘Well I think that your perception of me is overly optimistic.’ 

He grinned and reached for a slice of bread, cheese and meat. ‘If you told me you would go to the moon, I would agree.’ 

She shook her head with a smile and took a sip of wine, before digging into the food in front of them. Ben watched as she cycled through slices of bread stacked with cheese, then meat and then fruit and honey. When she noted he was concentrating too fully on her, she placed a mini pie in his hand and narrowed her eyes. 

Eventually she gestured to her lap, and Ben laid his head there, his eyes on Rey, the moon and the stars. From there she fed him blueberries, looking down at him carefully, thinking deeply about something.

‘You said those witches were deliberating on whether to consume you?’ She murmured brows furrowed in thought. Her thumb had found its way against his cheek and she stroked it absently. ‘Does that mean those witches were looking to take your heart? To eat it?’ She scratched her head. ‘Though, only the heart of a star would be of consequence to a witch?’ 

He chuckled. ‘My grandmother is a star.’

That didn’t seem to clear things up for her for a moment and then she blinked. ‘You are...you are the crown prince, then?’

He paused for a beat before nodding, looking suddenly embarrassed. He sat up and she watched him carefully. 

‘Are you thinking of ransoming me now?’

Her laugh broke through the quiet of the evening, and Ben breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. ‘You say that and it makes me think that perhaps you want somebody to ransom you.’

‘You don’t think ill of me?’ 

Rey blinked and shook her head. ‘I suppose now that I think about it, it would be strange to pay you back.’ 

‘Would you come to the palace with me?’ 

‘What will you do with me there?’ Ben was ready to complain, but Rey began to laugh. ‘Is your heart set on showing off your hero? Does this mean you intend to award me with a medal?’

He grinned. ‘Is that what you want? I’ll give you anything you want.’ Though he intended the words to be filled with mirth, they ended seriously. At the prospect of rejection, his heart ached and he swallowed, realising that he was exposing himself easily and openly. Though he knew the words were premature, he didn’t want them back. He knew his heart already. He knew it all. 

Rey’s smile was small; shy. ‘I’m not sure if it would be good to have a prince in my pocket.’ 

Ben watched her, trying to digest the quiet words. 

Her expression eased then and she folded her legs beneath her, her lips twisting into a wry smile. ‘You trust me that much that you would bring me into your home? I don’t even know how old I am. All I have is my own name.’

‘That’s enough,’ he said quickly, expression earnest.

‘Really?’

He nodded and watched Rey as she tried not to react. He could see her hold in her emotion, but then she sniffled and tears slipped down her cheeks. Ben sat up and moved closer, wiping them away with his thumbs and he pressed a kiss to her lips, warm and loving. Rey blinked away the tears and Ben pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tightly against him. 

They moved apart and Rey took several deep breaths, settling her emotions with it, and holding Ben’s gaze like it was an anchor. He held her hands in his and watched, like a rising sun, her expression turn bright. 

‘I’m glad you were kidnapped.’

He laughed and Rey kissed him once more, the chuckles falling against his lips as she wound her arms around his shoulders. Ben grinned, their lips falling together over and over, moonlight filling the field around them. His eyes blinked open and then he froze, looking as Rey’s honeyed skin shone with an internal light. Shone like his grandmother’s. 

Shone like a star.

Ben didn’t have the chance to explain his expression before Rey was looking down at her own hands, twisting her wrists to see the glow. By the time she had looked to Ben again he was smiling.

‘You really did fall from the heavens.’ He kissed her sparkling hands and wrists. 

Perhaps if it had not been Ben. If she had been alone, without any knowledge of fallen stars, Rey would have been frightened. But now, she found herself smiling with relief, as if this was one step towards her memories.

Ben felt it all click into place. The easy magnetism and the stars he had seen when he’d been drunk, thinking that it was a trick of the light. Even just the gentle thrum of her heart, and how it felt so insync with his.

As they sat in silence, Rey still mystified by her glowing skin, she took Ben’s hands in hers, and felt the steady beat of his heart against her fingers. Felt his own heart’s yearning to glow, and to match hers. 

‘I suppose I have to ask you now whether you’ll be ransoming me?’ 

Ben grinned and moved onto his knees, kissing Rey once more. Filling it with the depth of his emotions, solid and sure regardless of how new and untested they were. He knew it was Rey and it would always be her. 

Her arms moved around him as they fell to the soft blanket, basking in starlight and feeling home in each other's presence.

**~*~**

When the lights had all been extinguished across the town, it was Rey who spoke first, tucking a loose strand of Ben’s hair behind his ear. ‘Make love to me,’ she murmured. ‘I want it to be here, with you.’ He looked spooked by her words, and Rey smoothed the furrow in his brow with a thumb, before pressing a kiss to it. ‘Do you not want to?’ She asked.

‘I do,’ he started, gaze flitting between her eyes. ‘But are you sure?’ 

Rey smiled. ‘I trust you. I know you won’t hurt me.’ 

Ben breathed, closing his eyes. He wouldn’t. All he wanted was to give her the world, and himself in it. 

She sat up first and Ben watched as Rey began to undo the ribbons and clasps on her dress. There was nothing particularly sensual about her actions, yet the slow move of her fingers, how nimbly she pulled the hooks free made Ben’s face heat and his hands tightened on the blanket, blood rushing straight to his lower half. 

It would be a lie to say he had done this before. He’d never willingly given himself so fully to someone as he had with Rey. Life was too difficult as a prince, let alone the only child of the eldest child. Many of his cousins were already married, though Ben, he’d been too difficult to become attached, and his grandmother had told him; ‘for love, only for love.’ 

And he loved. He knew it now, because his heart burned with it. Ben knew if someone carved him open now, his heart would be gleaming in his chest. He loved Rey and he didn’t think anything could be clearer. 

‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’ Rey said with a small laugh, the dress undone and pooling at her waist, leaving Rey in her undergarments. 

‘Me neither,’ Ben answered, meeting her smile and pulling his jacket free. Rey reached forward, and holding his gaze she loosened the buttons at his throat and then all the way down to his navel. She pulled the material free of the waist of his trousers and then over Ben’s shoulders. 

His skin was as pale as the moon and Ben went still, cautious as Rey’s fingers ran over his arms and then up to his shoulders, tracing over the scar he’d told her about earlier, before crawling along his clavicle. When her hands began to trail across his chest, Ben closed his eyes. Her fingers left goosebumps across his skin as she seemed to take record of his anatomy. Of the shape of his nipples, how they felt against her thumbs and then she drew over the lines of the muscles of his abdomen before glancing over his navel. 

‘Can I?’ 

Rey blinked and took her hands away, nodding. She lifted her arms as Ben pulled her chemise over her head and his eyes fell to her bare chest, to the slight volume there and the light dusky pink of her nipples. 

‘You can touch me,’ she murmured.

Ben did as Rey had. Tracing the softness of her skin and shape with his fingers. Rey shivered when his fingers glanced over her nipples and he swiped over them again, watching as they pebbled under his touch. 

His lips were light on her shoulders, revelling in Rey’s soft hums of approval as he pressed kisses across her throat and down her chest. She sucked in a breath when he pressed a kiss against her breast, then another and another. 

Ben’s throat bobbed as he felt his pants grow ever more tighter and he absently rubbed a hand over himself for some relief. Rey had seen so and she reached for him, swallowing as she undid the buttons of his trousers. 

Her name fell from his lips when her hand slipped inside, the warm stiff length of him in the loose grip of her fingers. His head fell into the crook of Rey’s shoulder as she studied him with her hand.

Only a few moments passed before she retreated and undid the ties on her drawers, slipping them and the dress over her hips and leaving her bared completely to Ben. He sucked in a breath as his eyes were drawn between her legs. Then they lifted to her face again, and she was smiling gently.

Ben followed her, removing his trousers and they both sat in silence for a moment as they looked at eachother. Rey reached for Ben first, her fingers careful as she followed the veins along his shaft, as her thumb streaked through the bubble of precum at his tip. 

She knew how children were made well enough. She knew what they were doing. 

‘We can stop,’ Ben murmured.

‘Do you want to?’

He shook his head and Rey sat forward, placing herself in Ben’s lap, sitting on his thighs. 

‘I’ve heard it might hurt a little if I’m not ready,’ she started. 

‘Are you?’

She smiled and reached for the hand that sat on the blanket, pulling it between her legs. Ben felt wetness against his fingers and his cock twitched as he explored her gently. Rey tensed when his finger trailed to the raised pearl, and as he moved down, he found the source of the wetness, and his finger pressed inside. 

Rey groaned, leaving the sound against Ben’s shoulder. ‘Don’t stop,’ she whimpered, teeth gritting as he pulled from her and pressed back inside. Ben complied until Rey leaned back again, meeting his eyes and stilling his hand. 

He watched her as she shifted in her position,using his shoulders as a means of leverage and then she caught on his length and pressed forward, feeling the head of him breach her. Rey squinted, though the slide was smooth as she pressed forward, stopping when Ben had filled her.

They were both silent, Ben watching Rey’s skin brighten enough to match the moonlight shining over them. They kissed again and Ben groaned as Rey began to slowly move, lifting up and then grinding down over him. 

Smiles lit on both of their faces as they found their rhythm. Ben’s hands held softly onto Rey’s hips, waist, breasts, face. Though his eyes held hers, wanting to count the stars that were reflected there. Wanting to count the stars that were hers alone. Her skin glowed, warm and heady beneath his fingers and Rey could feel his heartbeat with hers. Could feel the immortal strength of it and how her own yearned to be closer, to be one with his. 

‘You’re the one thing,’ Ben murmured. ‘You’re the one special thing, but not just today. It will be the same tomorrow and the day after.’

‘And you’re mine.’ She said, so easily. It was like it had been written already. Fated and star-cast. A stellar collision. 

Ben breathed out, relieved at the words, and his smile unfading. He pulled her more tightly against him as Rey worked herself over his length. And they both fell into each other, the world closing around them so that all that remained were their slowly unfurling bodies, their sweet pants of bliss and the lights in the sky. 

**~*~**

They woke just as the moon began to wave its goodbyes to night, with their legs tangled and arms wrapped tightly around each other. Rey’s eyes blinked open first, pushing back the strands of hair that had broken free during her sleep. She left kisses against Ben’s face until his warm amber eyes were meeting hers, and she grinned. 

They tiredly dressed, unable to keep their eyes away from each other for more than a few seconds at a time.

By the time they were on their way down to the pier and the docks, the innkeeper’s brother and his small crew were preparing to ship out with the night’s catch. Rey and Ben greeted them with a smile, asking that the fisherman thank the innkeeper for the meal. 

Rey noted that the man looked nervous at the presence of the prince, trying to find them somewhere comfortable to sit, though Ben just laughed and shook his head, and they both squeezed themselves onto the lip of the boat, sitting and waiting for the sun to begin its entrance.

The sun was colouring the skies blood orange once they’d reached the city docks an hour later. Rey had tucked the both of them into Ben’s cloak, and they sat, watching the sun rise as the fishermen pulled the boat into moor. 

‘Thank you and please thank your brother for us. Your village was absolutely beautiful,’ Rey said with a wide smile. 

Ben agreed, and took the coin pouch that was tucked into his jacket, and passed the remaining contents to the fisherman. ‘You have my eternal gratitude.’ 

‘No problem, your Highness.’ 

The pair climbed from the boat, leaving the fisherman and his small crew to begin unloading their catch. Rey looked up at the warehouse buildings surrounding the docks and then her eyes caught on the looming palace in the background. 

‘Have you made your decision yet?’

Rey looked to him and smiled, nodding. 

‘What do you want for breakfast? I’ll—’ Ben didn’t finish the words, as a cold hand grabbed his shoulder and then the edge of a blade was pressed against the small of his back. 

The witches were upon them in seconds, two of them holding Ben down while the third circled Rey with a greedy smile on her face. 

‘Well sisters, it looks like we have hit the jackpot. The princeling and a star? Where did you find her, Prince Benjamin?’ 

Rey looked from the witch to Ben. ‘A-a star?’ She stuttered ‘What makes you think I’m a star?’ Ben winced as the blade pierced his skin and Rey stumbled forward, trying to get towards him, though the witch in front of her stopped her with the point of a glass knife. ‘Let him go.’ Rey’s eyes were on Ben again and he was shaking his head. ‘Please let him go.’ 

‘The star wishes to make demands.’ 

‘Perhaps the prince will come in handy sniffing out other stars if he found this one so easily.’ The witch snorted. ‘And got so comfortable with her? Were you going to take her home and play happy royal family?’ 

‘Rey.’ He called her name, and her eyes were on his again. ‘Look at me, just look at me.’ 

The witches laughed, guessing that the prince had resigned himself to his fate.

‘Remember what I said to you. In the story.’ 

Rey’s lips moved, searching for words and the witch grabbed her arm. Her eyes stayed holding Ben’s, filled with more warmth than she had ever known. She’d never felt so full in her life than she had the past forty-eight hours. Until now, there hadn’t been a single moment where she had felt happy, or elated, or excited. But he had made her feel all of those things. Wanting nothing from her; the girl with nothing but memories of suffering. 

She would do it for him. She would shine for him. 

Rey closed her eyes and thought of Ben. Of a world with him in it. A life with him in it. A future where they were able to love each other. Where they loved each other. She was going to make that happen. 

There were screams as the world around them brightened and heartened, and then silence. When Rey opened her eyes, the witches were nothing but scorch marks on the cobblestones. And Ben. Ben was on his knees, gaze low, breathing heavy. 

Rey reached for him, helping him up. There was relief on his face as his forehead came to rest against hers. She squeezed him against her and her voice was small as she met his eyes. 'It will be alright? We will be alright?' She asked.

They both breathed heavily, fear still throbbing in their veins, holding each other until they could hear the world begin to fully wake up. 

He nodded, pressing a brief kiss against her knuckles. 'I won't let you go.'

Rey swallowed as they started onwards again, Ben's hand shaking in hers, barely over the fright the witches had brought. 

**~*~**

By the time they had begun the incline towards the palace gates, the sun had fully risen and the noise of the city grew in volume. Though it was mostly merchants out at this time, there was a busyness in the air. It was like the incident on the docks had never happened. 

Before they had reached the gates, a servant hurried over with a furrow in his brow. ‘Your Highness?’ There was blood on Ben’s clothes, and he glanced at Rey and then back to the prince. 

‘Has breakfast been set out?’ He asked.

‘Another hour I think, your Highness.’ He looked wary as Ben passed him by. They passed through to the palace without much more incident, Rey’s eyes wide and staring at the huge stone walls, the sheer number of staff and the grandeur of the palace. Ben had requested a change of clothes for the both of them, and they were only separated long enough for Rey to be shown into a guest room where a day dress lay on the bed. 

She cleaned herself in a small basin filled with warm water, and tied her hair up into a knot. When she poked her head out of the door, it was Ben waiting against the opposite wall, a smile on his face and dressed in the kind of clothes Rey thought a prince would wear. 

‘You look suspiciously smug,’ Rey said as she followed Ben down the halls. 

‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ He turned a corner and looked at her, beaming. ‘I have you by my side, don’t I?’ 

Rey grinned and they moved into a large dining room, the doors pulled open by two guards. 

Queen Leia and Prince Consort Han were sitting at the end of the long dining room table, looking sombre as they ate. At the sound of the door opening, the queen looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of her son. Then they moved swiftly to the woman whose hand he was holding. Rey stilled, and then smiled as she saw the gleam of starlight in the woman’s eyes. 

‘Benjamin.’ Her voice was angry, though her expression was relieved, and she pushed her chair away as she approached them. ‘Where were you?’ 

Her son looked peevish and Rey held back a chuckle. ‘Did you not get my note?’ 

‘It was very suspicious, so it only served to worry me more.’ Her gaze moved to Rey and she became silent, seeing the same star-kissed skin of her mother’s in Rey. She blinked, then looked to Ben again. 

‘This is Rey,’ he smiled, restraining himself from a laugh. ‘My saviour.’ 

‘Your saviour?’ His father chimed in. 

‘We had some trouble with a trio of witches,’ Ben said bitterly. His mother was set to burst, but he shook his head and continued on. ‘I’m sorry,’ he started, feeling his breathing soften as Rey squeezed his hand. ‘I was selfish. I shouldn’t have been thinking only of myself. I know why they left, and I know it’s just as hard for you as it is for me,’ he murmured. 

Queen Leia sighed softly, lifting a hand to her son’s face, before slapping it playfully. ‘You are more than thirty years old and you still manage to drive me insane with worry. I can’t even punish you.’ 

Ben chuckled, looking to his feet. 

‘So Rey?’ It was Han, dropping his cloth napkin on the table as he approached. ‘You hungry?’ 

Rey met his eye, biting on her lip as her smile threatened to break through. ‘Starving,’ she managed, though the word had burst from her as if she’d been holding her breath. 

Ben grinned, and then looked nonchalant when his mother caught the expression. 

‘I suppose we should get you fed then, and you can explain to us exactly what happened, and how you, Ben, ended up following in your grandfather’s stead, and bringing a star home.’ 

They all walked back to the table, Ben pulling a chair out for Rey and sitting beside her, and across from Han and Leia. ‘Now this is a story,’ Ben said. ‘It began on a rainy evening, when the streets of Stormhold were filled with revellers—’ 

‘Not an epic again,’ Leia sighed, though Han and Rey were grinning as Ben began to unravel the tale that had joined two lost souls together. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :D


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